


When Green Is Gone

by AugustPendragon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Age Difference, F/M, Hate Sex, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Master/Slave, Multi, Orgy, Protectiveness, Public Humiliation, Rape, Rough Sex, Royalty, Spitroasting, Suicide Attempt, Tension, Threesome - F/M/M, Trauma, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:00:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22901350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AugustPendragon/pseuds/AugustPendragon
Summary: The dragons never came.It was just them and the sand, and the dread, and the pain.Even memories die.[AMOG alternate bad ending]
Kudos: 2
Collections: A Memory Of Green





	When Green Is Gone

"You look so handsome, emperor. I'd love to get you out of those clothes… but ah, we have some business to attend to first…" The woman mused as her booted foot came to rest lightly between his legs, ever so slightly rubbing.  
He gave her no answer, simply stared out of the window of their carriage as the castle that had once been their home loomed ever closer. Maeve sighed, then moved over to sit next to him, cupping his face in her slender fingers and kissing him. When she moved back it was only to nuzzle his hair, whispering into his ear as she cuddled closer.  
"Aw come on love, don't be such a downer… in fact, I have a surprise for you that might make your day~"  
If anything, he seemed to slump down all the more at that, grimacing.  
He never did like her surprises.  
The carriage finally came to a stop, and both of them dismounted, the pirate queen clinging to his arm as she walked forward. He thought he recognized a few of the servants as his own, but he couldn't be sure. He hadn't really paid them much attention when he had been emperor, and even now, he kept his eyes fixed on the floor.  
And yet, he knew the way to the throne room like the back of his hand, so even without looking, he knew exactly where they were headed. The sound of music and laughter reached them as they stood before it. The guards briefly inspected them before opening the doors. Maeve almost had to shove him inside.  
It was nothing more and nothing less than he'd expected. The white haired bastard who'd stolen his throne. The dark haired devil who'd helped him. The finest warriors that had aided them. And fine food and fine drink and fine slaves. He knew some of those, too, more than he ever knew the servants. A pair of young blonde twins in almost utterly translucent clothes, their eyes lifeless, attached to the throne by thin gold chained leashes. Asmodeus couldn't look at them or at anything else, in fact completely shut his eyes and left it up to Maeve where he would be shoved next.  
Raphael's voice cut through the noise then, a delighted shout above the music.  
"Well, if it isn't the pirate queen come to see us! Welcome, Maeve."  
"Veryyy good to see you," Lucian purred, edging in alongside his companion, eyes traveling the pirate's body freely.  
The woman purred, tugging her companion forward as she spoke.  
"My pleasure to be here, emperor Raphael, Lucian. Saved me a seat?" Without waiting for an answer she moved forward, sitting on one of the many cushions strewn around the room for the visitors to rest on, wedging herself in between Lucian and Raphael. Deliberately leaving Asmodeus side by side with the twins.  
Alphonse had not looked up as the door opened, but he did so as Raphael called out, looking up. His eyes widened. He had thought he'd never see him again… and although he had wished not to see him like this… he felt the closest thing to happiness for the first time in months.  
Emperor.  
His lips mouthed the word, but never spoke it, knowing better. Unlike Asmodeus, his eyes never left him, never strayed down, followed his every movement as he drew closer. Tears leapt to his eyes as the man was set down next to him. His fingers twitched. What would Raphael do if he dared touch him? Would he whip and starve him? Fuck him raw before every person in the room. In that moment he didn't care. His fingers dragged over the slick floor, curled weakly into the folds of the emperor's clothes as he shook.  
But that was all he did. He did not dare touch him, not for himself, and not for the emperor. He knew the pirate wouldn't let Raphael hurt him.  
But there was someone else…  
His brother lay by his side, his mouth muzzled, his limbs shackled, even when his own weren't. Blank, clouded grey eyes were fixed on the floor.  
Asmodeus' eyes opened at the touch, moved silently to Alphonse. Other than that he was still. Maybe he, too, understood the consequences--  
Alphonse's heart stuttered as suddenly the once emperor caught him in his arms and pulled him into his embrace, soft and warm and sweet, a memory of everything he'd had and lost.  
Raphael's head snapped up.  
"--Get the fuck off him!"  
Asmodeus didn't bother looking at him. The only opinion that mattered was his mistress', and she wasn't likely to mind.  
Oh, the drama! The cute forbidden lovers reunited! Maeve was really enjoying the show~ She purred, moving forward, drawing her own slave lovingly into her arms together with the boy, who even now shuddered as he set his head against the man's chest, fingers curled tightly into his clothes.  
"Now now Raphael, don't be so mean! It is only a hug… Asmodeus has missed his cute little lover so much… and if you're not even fucking him right now, what's the problem?" She asked teasingly, reaching out and stroking Alphonse's hair.  
"The problem--" Raphael snarled, leaning in and dropping his voice for her ears only, "is that this ungrateful little bitch makes a show of liking your dog's withered old cock more than--"  
Hands reaching out to roughly seize Alphonse's neck were warded off by a vicious bite from the displaced former tyrant.  
Raphael leapt to his feet, yanking his hand free and going for his sword in the same motion, even as Maeve jumped disapprovingly upright herself and Asmodeus hissed. But then Raphael paused mid-draw, sneer on his face.  
"Well then. If they missed each other so, why don't we have them fuck? Right here, right now. A little show for all of us."  
"Oooh YES!" Lucian squealed, patting his hands. The other conversations in the room dropped off, eager eyes turned in. Asmodeus curled in around Alphonse and didn't say a word.  
Maeve blinked, her own sword mid drawn. The weapon was sheathed once more, confusion turning to glee. A moment later her body was resting against his, their lips an inch apart as she ran a single finger slowly down his chest.  
"Raphael you beautiful bastard! You always manage to please… I still insist you should just marry me already… damn, I'll marry Lucian too, just for you~" She growled playfully.  
"I try." Yet his eyes weren't on her. They were on them--both of them--hate and triumph together.  
Maeve noticed, and let out a brief little sigh. Sometimes it was really hard to compete with Raphael's obsession for the little blonde whore. But it did not matter. There were finer things in life than the warlord's attention. Such as the sight of her beloved Asmodeus making love to a pretty little thing. She turned then, addressing the man.  
"You heard the emperor, love! Now now, don't look so sad. You can just pretend none of us are here, then it'll be just like old times, yes~?"  
Really? His punishment was making the emperor fuck him? He did not want it. Not in front of them, of any of them. But how many times had Raphael raped him before strangers already? He was pretty sure everyone in that room had already seen him being taken. Everyone except for the emperor…  
He shuddered, then tentatively looked up.  
"I-I'm sorry…"  
"No."  
The man nosed his hair, took in that warm familiar smell.  
"I'm sorry, I..."  
Couldn't protect you, couldn't protect anyone. Such weak words. So incapable of fully describing the depth of his inadequacy, how he'd failed. He'd damned them all to hell for the rest of their miserable unwanted lives.  
"I'll... Keep you under me as best as possible. It doesn't matter what they see of me."  
"E-Emperor—" Their moment was interrupted as Maeve moved forward, crouching before Asmodeus and grinning.  
"See love? I promised I had a great surprise for you~ Now go on, don't be shy! The emperor has granted you a go at his prized slave." Her eyes strayed away from him, to Alphonse. Her fingers stroked the boy's hair, and although Asmodeus hissed, he did not dare do anything else against her.  
"And you pet… aren't you happy? Someone will finally show you the kindness you've desired for so long… but you will need to help him with a kindness of your own before, surely you know what I mean~"  
Her hand tugged slowly at Asmodeus' pants, not pulling them off, but rather giving a message that Alphonse understood all too well. The boy whimpered, then… hesitated. If he did do this… would the warlord be angry? Most likely. No matter what he did, the man always managed to be angry with him. And the woman would protect the emperor. One of his hands left the emperor's clothes as he tucked his head under his chin and closed his eyes, fingers slipping past the fabric that Maeve had been tugging, wrapping around warm flesh. He felt the man stiffen against him.  
"I-I'm sorry," He croaked again, even as he slumped against him, waiting for the second that Raphael ripped him off the man and beat him.  
The only answer was a gentle folding of arms around him, a hand stroking his back, rubbing soothing patterns into his skin. It was such a little thing, and it didn't change what was going to happen, now or after.  
And yet it was the first time since Raphael's reclaiming that anyone but Alex had shown him comfort. That anyone had cared, understood, acknowledged his suffering...  
The tears came unwanted, hot torrents running down his cheeks, his little body trembling even as he continued to work the emperor's shaft. Asmodeus simply gathered him close during it all, hiding him behind his robes as best he could, curling his head protectively down over the boy's. There was nothing else to be done. Mocking Raphael might end it, but it could lead to even worse things, punishment for both his lover and his nephew. It wasn't worth risking. Rage, humiliation... they curled in his chest, seething, but Maeve had taught him well to submit.  
Raphael, meanwhile, simply joined the ring of his grinning companions in watching. Seeing Alphonse look for comfort in the man was... sickening... made him want to kill, but he knew he couldn't, and he knew this was punishment bitter enough to sting. Let them have one another, then, if it would make the miserable things suffer more.  
It wasnt much, but it was enough. Alphonse melted against the man's warmth, feeling more at peace than he had in months. Even as his fingers worked the man's shaft against both of their wills. Even as he was moments away from being raped for the amusements of those who had made his life hell.  
Maeve had, meanwhile, moved away from Raphael's unflinching side and into Lucian's more receptive arms, watching what little there was to watch. However, as the minutes passed and her beloved pet was still just grunting quietly, she grew impatient.  
"Oh love, I guess that's not gonna be enough for you, poor old dear. Alphonse, why don't you help him out? You wouldn't want dear old Asmodeus to let all these people down, would you?" The boy shuddered, knowing exactly what she was asking. He turned ever so slightly, looking pleadingly up at Raphael. The man gave him nothing but that cruel grin, hate and glee both mixing behind it. Alphonse hated him so. He wanted to kiss Asmodeus before him, to tell him he loved him like nobody would ever love him in his filthy, miserable life. That making love to him was no punishment. That would probably make him angry enough to kill the both of them...  
Instead, Alphonse found himself pressing once more against the emperor, letting out another quiet apology as he slid down, face tucked between the old emperor's legs. A deeper groan left Asmodeus as Alphonse's warm tongue pressed against his cock.  
Asmodeus didn't want this any more than Alphonse, and yet.  
It was hardly the first time he'd been touched since Maeve had taken him. To the contrary, she fucked him to the point of exhaustion, day in and day out, and when he could not match her pace she either had someone else fuck him or fucked his nephew in front of him. No, he was no stranger to touch.  
But this... even if the circumstance was cruel, there was a certain comfort in being pleasured by the boy he'd come to love. Asmodeus closed his eyes as Alphonse's tongue worked him like a marvel, slick and hot, charting veins and head until his mouth closed over all like a divine chasm.  
Asmodeus' hands found the boy's hair, offered what little comfort he could in stroking him--and then shortly after urged Alphonse up, away from his cock, sparing him the humiliation of drinking. A choice Maeve might have taken issue with, if Asmodeus hadn't followed by abruptly meeting the boy's lips.  
Cheers and whistles from the surrounding crowd, barely noticed by the two lovers, so used to such cruel noises. Raphael alone was displeased, a darkness settling on his face, hands curled into fists on his lap.  
Asmodeus broke the kiss at last, Alphonse gasping softly, and then kissed his hair instead. He spoke in a low and private murmur.  
"Do you need me to prepare you?"  
The boy's face grew darker than before, if anything, eyes straying away. He was quiet, but shook his head no. Ah, of course not. To be quite honest, he had been surprised not to find the warlord in the middle of raping either Alphonse or his brother when they'd gone in. Alphonse needed no preparation. His body had already recently been claimed more roughly than he ever would. Still, the boy shuddered, spoke again.  
"I just... I-I just need... n-nevermind..." He murmured, closing his eyes as he sunk into the emperor's hold.  
The man shuddered in turn against him, even as he gathered him in close.  
"I'm so sorry, Alphonse."  
His voice cracked. He shifted forward, moving aside what little of Alphonse's threadbare clothing stood in his way, leaving him otherwise dressed. Then he pressed himself atop him, gently, shoulder to shoulder, stomach to stomach, hips to hips. His fingers curled in the boy's and his legs enfolded his own. True to his word he'd hidden as much of the boy as possible beneath him, like a solid shadow, warm and protecting above, robes like a veil to hide them from sight. Asmodeus nudged Alphonse's face, soft, and began to press in.  
Cheers rose around the room when the boy beneath him arched softly, letting out a soft cry. A clear indication that he had entered him. Alphonse did his best to ignore them, focusing on Asmodeus only as he whimpered and nuzzled back, trembling fingers tightening against his own. He was tense, the emperor could tell, even now his body taut beneath his own, although not for any physical pain. Alphonse's entrance accepted him easily. As the boy had said, he needed no preparation. But even then he couldn't blame him. Despite the many times they had been together--and the times he had surely been taken for show before they had even met, the boy always was shy and nervous when he was shown affection. Somehow a deflowered virgin.  
Alphonse couldn't quite tone out the sneers and grins around him, the mocking jeers, taunting the emperor to fuck him hard. They all knew he could take far more than the gentle pace he had set. But that was not why he was tense. He felt his own cock rising beneath the folds of Asmodeus' robes, and with it rose his dread.  
Raphael, cruel as always, had made him wear the beads once more. He couldn't have him making a mess in the middle of their celebration, he'd said. He'd already been tortured with the damn things thrice that day.  
Asmodeus' touch, sweet as it was, would only end in pain for him, he knew. But there was nothing he could do, unless his master ordered him to take them off. And he had not.  
Another whimper left him as Asmodeus moved within him again and again, body shaking. He gasped for breath, a wretched little sob leaving him, and then he moved forward and pressed his lips against the emperor of his own volition, preferring that over the sound of his cries.  
Asmodeus kissed him back, soft and slow, and beneath the voices surrounding them Alphonse could almost pretend--  
"Oy oy oy! This isn't any good, honestly! Turn over, old man, we want to see the little one's hard dick!"  
That was Lucian, raising a glass of wine and grinning, hoots of agreement joining in. Asmodeus stiffened briefly--and then quickened his pace, desperate, trying to end it before Maeve could confirm the order.  
Alphonse cried out more sharply at the sudden change in pace, eyes snapping open and face going red. Maeve's voice cut cold amidst the others.  
"He's so disobedient, perhaps I should start training his other cute little nephew as a replacement? Lucian, you could help~" The man froze at her words, choking down a cry of pain. As much as he loved Alphonse, he could not... he couldn't let the woman touch his nephew, anything but that. Maeve laughed at his obedience, snatching Lucian's cup away and taking a swig.  
"Roll over love, and make it sweet and gentle, the way Alphonse likes it. We might as well let him enjoy it, right~"  
Alphonse said nothing, merely closed his eyes and whimpered as the man slowly, reluctantly rolled around, taking him with him. Asmodeus' back came to rest against the ground while Alphonse sat straddling his hips, eyes still closed as the man's cock inside him was made visible to all of those in the room through the translucent fabrics that adorned him.  
It took a long moment before Asmodeus reluctantly began to thrust anew, before his mistress could scold him further. The earlier cheers grew far more raucous now that the full show was visible, yells of encouragement to Asmodeus for doing so well despite his advanced age, shrieks of delight over how beautiful Alphonse looked atop as the man's thick cock sunk deep into his ass. The old emperor's eyes had gone quite dull, but apparently not dull enough. A glint of metal caught his eye and he looked--saw it was Alphonse's shaft, adorned with bells hung from piercings, but also--  
Asmodeus' movements stopped, not out of disobedience but out of raw horror.  
"What--what is--"  
Then he understood. He'd never seen the things himself, but he'd heard rumors--  
"You filthy fucking bastard!"  
Hands left Alphonse's hips to claw the floor, the man twisting halfway around to snarl at Raphael, who did nothing but smirk in answer. The other men and Lucian in particular laughed. Asmodeus looked like he might well try to get up and kill them all with his bare hands, trembling, hissing, filled with a fury long doused. Maeve enjoyed the sight. Very much. Yet it was utterly satisfying in another way when Asmodeus surrendered an already lost fight and turned his face instead towards her, begging. He had learned many times over that begging, by showing how much he wanted not to do something, often saw him forced to do it, but now there was nothing else to lose.  
"M-Maeve, please, we were companions once. If that ever meant anything to you, please, don't make me hurt him. I'll do this but let me take it out first, please, p-please."  
Maeve took another swig of Lucian's cup, sighing sadly.  
"You cute little thing, really, you're my only weakness... would that I could love, but it was the emperor who ordered this from you, not me, so..." Another swig of wine, and Maeve looked half pleadingly towards the warlord.  
"What do you say, Raphael? I understand you're not very fond of my pet... but Alphonse has been nothing but obedient, spare the little dear some pain, would you? I'll make Asmodeus clean up any mess they make~"  
Alphonse met Raphael's eyes briefly, then closed his own and whimpered. The man had made him wear the damn things even when he wasn't angry at him, and right now, he wanted nothing more than to cause him and Asmodeus pain.  
Raphael's rough little laugh confirmed the verdict. As satisfying as it would be to see the rat licking up his own slave's seed it would be sweeter, still, to watch him make his precious "beloved" suffer--  
That was when Lucian unexpectedly stood, plucking the goblet back out of Maeve's hand and giving her a throaty kiss before sauntering forward.  
"Actually, Raphy, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Get to see a nice spray from his dick to old Azzy's face, but beyond that... maybe we can get something back in turn, mm?"  
Asmodeus' eyes moved with the man as he strutted. Alphonse felt the old emperor's nails digging slightly into his hips as Lucian paused behind them both.  
"Your ass seems to be unoccupied... maybe Raphy will spare the brat in return for some audience participation, eh?"  
"Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt him."  
"Well, Maeve can order it whether we do or don't, can't she?"  
"I know."  
Asmodeus closed his eyes. They couldn't betray him that way. But the rising sweat did. His last encounter with Lucian had not been pleasant.  
The man crouched, purring, wrapping one arm around Alphonse and sliding the other teasingly up Asmodeus' thigh as he eyed Maeve.  
"Well, milady and milord, what do you think?"  
Raphael had been watching in silence. But now he too stood, moving not towards the emperor's rear but towards his face, towering above him and Alphonse both as that thin and ghastly smile split his lips.  
"Lucian, you've almost swayed me. Maeve, if you'll let us play with him, I suppose I can spare Alphonse. And don't worry, we won't do anything... permanent."  
The boy let out a wretched sob in Lucian's hold, shaking his head as he looked down at the emperor.  
"S-stop—no, you don't need to, I can take it, it'll be fine just… t-this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, please d-don't…"  
And normally, such a beautiful display of affection would have swayed what little pity Maeve had in her hand under any other circumstances. But Lucian and Raphael were offering so much more. She'd served herself her own goblet of wine, took another swig and then raised her cup merrily above her head as she cheered.  
"You beautiful bastards—what are you waiting for? Give us a show!"  
"I'm fine, Alphonse, this isn't--"  
Lucian ripped the man's pants down and stuck him before he finished. Asmodeus made a strangled little noise, fingers clenching instinctively before he stopped himself, not wanting to hurt Alphonse. A moment later his arms were torn away altogether, Raphael roughly jerking away his robe and shirt, baring his skin completely to all of them, taut with fear, the thin pale body of a noble who'd never worked under the sun, chest pulsing with his rapid heart. Raphael slammed Asmodeus' head down, forced his cock into his throat as his fingers curled viciously into his throat, as Lucian set up a frantic pace on the man's ass. It hurt and it shamed and it sickened and even then Asmodeus brought trembling hands back up to Alphonse's hips, stroking him gently, trying to show he was alright.  
But Alphonse knew he was not. The boy atop him closed his eyes and sobbed. He did not bother to remove the beads in his cock, the ones for which the man was now suffering so. His shaft had already gone soft again, the man's gentle tempo interrupted, even as his own cock remained within him. There was no pleasure in this torture, and he would not come, even as he swayed back and forth atop the emperor, moved by Lucian's rough movements more than anything else. A moment later, a pillow struck Lucian square in the face, followed by an angry yell.  
"Hey! I use that ass too! Slow down or get off!"  
"Aw, but--"  
Another slap, this time, a small clear vial. Lucian grumbled but withdrew, slapping lube on to his bulging cock before moving inside again, with reluctant slowness. Raphael, too, regretfully loosed his hold on Asmodeus, letting him take a few shaking breaths before cutting him off again, hips bucking savagely against his lips, balls slapping his face. It was better than before, but it was still cruel, and Asmodeus' sex followed Alphonse's in going limp, hands simply holding the boy as he was fucked on each end.  
Alphonse's sobs were drowned under the loud cheering of those around him. Ah, if he had known… he wouldn't have moved at all, he would have never touched him. This was his fault. It was all his fault. From the moment he had begged Asmodeus to save him that awful night. It had damned his brother too. Asmodeus felt Alphonse's warm, thick tears splattering onto his belly as Alphonse cried out, body trembling from reasons far different than before. He should have… he should have never said a thing. He should have staid quiet and obedient, being nothing more than the slave he was supposed to be. Then Asmodeus would have not given him another thought, would have sent him back to Raphael. And then his kingdom would still be standing, his brother well on his way home.  
"P-please n-no, I'm s-sorry, I-I'm so s-sorry…"  
Asmodeus shuddered--and then moved, tried to, Raphael and Lucian's cruel hands pinning him still. In lieu of that he simply shoved at Alphonse, wordless, lifting him off; there was no reason for the boy to suffer with him, not when he physically couldn't claim him now, order or not.  
That was when the other soldiers moved forward, grinning, and abruptly Asmodeus realized off his cock was not a safe place for Alphonse to be. He struggled again, more desperately than before, managed to roll to his stomach even while stuck, like meat on a roast, all to put Alphonse protectively under him. He squeezed him beneath his body as the chatter of elated voices filled the air, as hardened cocks were drawn out, as Lucian snickered and slapped his ass and Raphael jerked cruelly at his hair and as white drops began to sprinkle his back. Alphonse heard his master's voice rising cruelly above the others; "If he doesn't want the beads on his dear wife, perhaps we should put them in him!"  
Maeve, who had perched herself on the throne upon finding herself left alone, took another swig of wine—directly from the bottle, then laughed.  
"I don't think so~" Even as she drank again, she peered at Asmodeus from the corner of her eye, smiling. When she was done drinking, she spoke again.  
"Have you no heart? Well I do, and it beats for that pretty little thing down there! He has been so obedient, and already looks so good. I won't punish my dear pet for doing exactly as he's told. Fuck his pretty face and ass, but keep those stupid things away from him~" She declared happily. Alphonse felt the emperor's gentle shudder of relief. But ah, he knew those words were a lie. If Raphael or Lucian found a way to bribe her, she would surely sell away the emperor's pain in exchange of entertainment. With a whimper, and despite Asmodeus' best attempts to keep him down, Alphonse dragged himself forward. Raphael looked down as a small hand settled on his inner thigh, stroked upwards. He found Alphonse's eyes looking pleadingly up into his.  
"M-master, please…"  
Please what? Begging for him to spare Asmodeus at the cost of his own suffering would only anger the warlord more, make him strive to continue the man's suffering.  
"P-please… t-there are t-too many e-eyes… too many hands… I-I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I d-don't want to be touched by anyone else anymore… p-please take me home, R-Raphael." Those last words came in the sweetest, pleading moan as the boy moved forward, his lips kissing the base of his cock, touching what little of his shaft still remained outside Asmodeus' mouth.  
Raphael looked impassively down at the boy as Alphonse's attempts grew more desperate, pathetic little laps and suckles at the man's base even as he kept thrusting, eventually transferring his attention to kissing the man's sacs. It was only then that Raphael moved--a quick, hard slap, knocking Alphonse to his back. Asmodeus hissed, but the sound was garbled through the continued pounding of Raphael's member, the man not fearing him in the slightest.  
"Oh, but is he so obedient, Maeve? I seem to recall you telling him to fuck Alphonse, but here he is, not properly fucked at all."  
The warlord's eyes never left Alphonse even as he addressed the pirate, vibrant with madness.  
"In fact, Maeve, why don't we test your claim? Tell your pet to fuck Alexander. If he obeys he's a good slave and all is well, but if he doesn't--and oh I think he won't--do let us punish him. He can go back to making sweet love to his dear Alphonse, except this time, he'll be the one in beads!"  
Evidently the thought quite excited the emperor's comrades, for a few shot sticky white across Asmodeus' back at the announcement, and Lucian too seemed to have come from the sound of his piggish happy grunts.  
"N-no! Please n-no, n-not my brother—m-master please, p-please just p-punish me—I was the b-bad one, not him!" The boy sobbed desperately, trembling fingers even now clutching at the fabric of his master's pants even as he kept his face pressed against the ground. The very image of an obedient, groveling slave. The sight was so beautiful that after a few more thrusts, Raphael found himself releasing deep inside Asmodeus' throat.  
Maeve had been silent at his words, taking another swig from her bottle. She remained silent even as she stood, stretching, then walked over to the orgy in the middle of the room. She pushed Raphael away, cock slipping out and letting the man cough and gasp for breath. Not for very long, as her lips pressed over his, cheers and more white rising again as she tasted the emperor's seed on the former ruler's lips. She pulled back with a grin, licking her own lips as she tilted the man's chin up with a single finger and pressed the bottle to his lips.  
"Drink, love. You will need it~" He closed his eyes and drank, mostly because he had no other choice, but thankful of the sweet drink washing away the man's filthy cum from his mouth. She let him down half a bottle before she pulled the glass away, kissed him again.  
"My little emperor is a good boy. He's just a little frail is all. Not his fault you were too rough with him, didn't let him finish, but he will get it this time, won't you?" She purred, leaning forward.  
"He might not be your dear Alphonse, but I've heard stories of the both of you. How you tried to keep yourself from hurting that cute little thing for his brother's sakes, but still kept pinning him around. The same pretty face you love, but with a soul you'd love to tear apart instead, hm? I bet you fantasized about raping him hard against the ground, no matter how noble you want to play yourself at not having to… But now here's your chance to do it! I want you to take that boy, and take him hard—no need to be shy! He's taken Lucian's dick before so there's not much worse you can do~"  
"P-please! Please M-master, master no please!" The boy beneath him sobbed wretchedly meanwhile, shaking like a leaf.  
And through it all, the one they spoke of remained unmoving, still chained to the throne, eyes vacant, as if whatever life had once been inside him had long left elsewhere.  
Raphael simply watched Alphonse break with a smile on his face. Asmodeus looked up blankly at his owner, so cute, with sad empty expression and white and wine still dribbling down his chin. But then he lowered his head to the ground--all of himself--prostrating as Alphonse had, even as Lucian giddily started a fresh round on his ass.  
"P-Please, mistress, let me take Alphonse with the beads instead."  
Maeve smiled sweetly down at him.  
"No, I want to see you fuck that boy~"  
A sudden scream rent the air, not Asmodeus' or Alex's or of any of the men surrounding them. Alphonse was not on the ground anymore, had gotten up to his knees and lunged forward, fingers curling into the emperor's clothes as he tried to shake him.  
"Why why why why WHY?! Why are you doing this to me—I-I have done everything for you—I've give you a-all I had to give! I've been your whore—anyone's whore! Not a word of protest and still—STILL! What do you WANT from me!? He screamed, breathing ragged, eyes wide and tear streaked, not knowing what to do to save the one he loved the most.  
Raphael's answer was to seize the boy by his golden hair and shake him, earning a scream that had nothing to do with desperation.  
"I wanted you to be grateful, you miserable fuck! I wanted you to love me! Every other slave in this shit filled hell would have given all their limbs to be spoiled and fed and protected as I did for you and all you've ever done in thanks is bleat and bitch! I should've sold you to the Mastemans and let them spill your ungrateful innards on their altar!"  
He dropped the boy then, turned spitting towards Asmodeus.  
"Go fuck the other one!"  
The man dug his head hard against the floor, clawed at his own face, shaking.  
"Please. Please. Don't make me choose between my lover and my child."  
"He's not your lover, you shit faced old bitch!"  
Lucian moaned and began to buck all the more vigorously, Asmodeus crying out in pain even as something else ripped the tears down his cheeks.  
A goblet flew through the air, slamming against the emperor's chest, wine spraying across the room, tainting the man's robes, as if he had been stabbed. Instead of curling up and crying the boy had gotten up once again, grabbed the nearest thing and thrown it at him, screamed again.  
"You have never—NEVER given me a single thing! I had food! I had clothes! I had a home! I was loved!—And you took it all away—all you ever do is take! Give me a single reason to be grateful—A SINGLE reason not to hate you! Gods! Please—PLEASE j-just give me my brother back—whatever you've l-left of him—oh gods please… p-please…" Slowly the anger left him, and the boy seemed to crumble under the weight of the misery left in its place, sobbing as he laid before the emperor.  
Asmodeus let out a cry of anguish, stood--or tried to, Lucian's rough hands giving him no freedom. The once-emperor twisted back on himself like a snake, raking his nails across the brute's face, and in the single moment of stunned rage that followed he ripped himself free and away from the other men's grasping hands and tossed himself on Alphonse. Raphael looked positively livid, reaching for a blade--  
"I was cruel to him! I showed him only the faintest kindness and even so he gained affection for me. A monster like me! If you only showed him a little kindness... even if it took years... maybe even you..."  
Raphael stepped forward. Asmodeus pulled himself to his knees, clutching Alphonse to his chest as his other arm swept out in gesture.  
"You want him to love you? Is this how you treat a lover?"  
The only noise was Alphonse's ragged sobs, the boy limp in the arms of his naked and filthy champion, the room filled with leering men, his twin lying dead against the throne.  
A thousand heartbeats later, Raphael snapped his fingers. A servant entered the room, bowing.  
"Take that one to my room and leave him there."  
With another bow the servant gathered up Alex, loosed his chains, and swept him away. Asmodeus crumpled, trembling, to the floor.  
Lucian hissed from his place beside Maeve, rubbing the thin welts marking his face.  
"So can I go get the beads now?"  
Maeve leaned forward, gently kissing the cuts on Lucian's face, then giggled in his ear.  
"Nope!" Another swig of wine, the woman looking at her slave with a grin.  
"I still stand over my words! Poor precious Asmodeus is a good boy. The only reason he hasn't been able to properly fuck anybody is because you keep interrupting him! So either just let him finish with this one boy, or let's address the fact that I'm the only one who hasn't had any fun at all." Her eyes shifted towards Raphael.  
"What do you say, emperor? You've already had plenty of fun with my slave, it would only be fair I had some fun with yours... and perhaps, I could teach you to fuck him properly. Just think, he could be as obedient as my own precious Zekey~" A blatant lie; Raphael had more than ruined the boy with his cruelty. At least for himself. If anything, he had prepared the boy to be easily smitten by anyone who showed him the slightest bit of pity and affection. Exactly what had happened with the boy and the emperor. But the warlord needn't know~  
Alphonse, in turn, had dragged himself away from Asmodeus and to his master's feet, trembling fingers again clutching at the leg of his pants, head bowed down as he quietly thanked him over and over again for sparing his twin. Although his real gratitude laid elsewhere...  
"Do whatever you like with him," Raphael answered, stiffly. Lucian perked up, cock bristling, and the emperor hissed.  
"Not YOU!"  
The other men assembled, the first show over, had trudged to their seats again, but now they looked up at Maeve with considerable interest.  
The woman purred delighted, reaching out and stroking Asmodeus' hair.  
"Don't worry love, I'll be good to him~" with that she stood and moved forward. Alphonse whimpered as he was picked up easily off the floor, his light weight a testament to Raphael's cruelty.  
Boy in arms, she moved once more to the throne, pulling Alphonse onto her lap. Arms wrapped gently around him and drew him close, his back pressed to her belly and chest, fingers slowly stroking his belly as the woman leaned forward and nuzzled his hair.  
"Hello Alphonse! You pretty thing... I've wanted to meet you for so long..." Alphonse whimpered, keeping his eyes closed. The woman was different from Raphael and his men. She was soft and warm all over, her scent light and sweet unlike the stink of sweat of the men who'd had him. But even then she was as bad as them, wasn't she? She'd been the one to enslave Asmodeus after all. Still, she was not as bad as Raphael. No one could ever be.  
"Don't be afraid, I know your brute of an owner has treated you horribly, you poor sweet thing, but I promise I will be kind to you~" Raphael growled, grip tightening on his sword, but the woman only laughed at his reaction.  
"One could argue it's not his fault, warriors only know how to skewer their way to what they want. They think asking and receiving is a shame, but some things can't be gained through sheer force. Some things have to be earned..." Her fingers slowly traced over his chest and upwards, tilted his chin up ever so slightly.  
"Tell your master Alphonse, the things he has to give in order to receive... would you like to be fed daily?" The boy only answered with a whimper, and the pirate leaned forward and kissed his hair, stroked him gently again.  
"Go on love, don't be afraid. He won't hurt you for telling him how to get what he wants." Alphonse hesitated briefly, then opened his eyes, wincing at his master's sour face.  
"...y-yes..."  
"Would you like him to stop beating you when you're doing nothing but gain his favor?"  
"Y-yes..."  
"Would you like him to stop tearing apart everything you hold dear?"  
"P-please..." That was a broken little sob, the blond shuddering and closing his eyes once more. Maeve nuzzled him again, the tip of her fingers slowly gliding down, her eyes fixed on Raphael's as the traced ever so slightly over the boy's cock. Alphonse's hips moved ever so slightly forward, a quiet little moan escaping him.  
"Would you like it if he touched you sweet and gentle, just every once in a while... listened to what brings you pleasure... like a lover... instead of fucking you raw night after night~" The boy covered his face, skin red as his cock swiftly hardened under her caresses. He did not speak, but he nodded softly. Maeve grinned.  
"Well, emperor. Do you think you can manage that, or are you a lost cause?~"  
"I suppose... not that it matters now."  
The man's brow furrowed, and when he looked up it wasn't at Alphonse.  
"Give him what he wants? That's you, isn't it? Go."  
With a shudder Asmodeus pushed himself up, shuffling along to the throne and then draping himself between Maeve and Alphonse's legs. The pirate didn't bother suppressing the deep and happy thrum within her chest. Oh, wasn't this the stuff of dreams? Her on the throne, a beautiful blonde boy in her arms, her darling slave-king prostrate before her. The heat quickening between her thighs flamed all the higher as Asmodeus lapped at Alphonse's rising shaft through the thin veil of his clothing--but then the man hesitated.  
"He can take the beads out, as exchange for your favors. As we agreed."  
That was Raphael, close behind him. The former emperor tensed as the new crouched against him, rigid member to his hole. Lucian hadn't been half as rough as he could be, but he was sore all the same, the thought of more vicious intrusion twisting his gut.  
Raphael sheathed himself then, but--gently, softly, beginning to move his hips in that all too slow pace that he knew the damned boy and the aged bastard alike preferred. Asmodeus jerked in surprise, eyes wide--then closed--breathless as the warlord kept that smooth rhythm, both hands working his swelling cock in tandem.  
"There we go, you old thing."  
No, this wasn't what Alphonse wanted, not at all. But at the very least this torture paled in comparison to what he had been suffering before. Face still hidden behind his hands he moaned quietly as the old emperor continued his ministrations, then tensed as he was ordered to pause by the pirate.  
Oh, this was DEFINITELY what she wanted! Well... close enough...  
She'd instructed her precious pet to continue pleasuring the boy, then had him pause once his cock had gone hard enough. She felt Alphonse stiffen in her hold as her fingers moved to the head of his cock, and with another reassuring murmur, she began slowly, carefully removing the beads from him. Despite her carefulness, Alphonse found himself choking down a sob. The golden contraption came out of him coated in white from his previously restrained releases, more of it slowly spurting out even if he wasn't releasing at the moment. Maeve ordered Asmodeus to continue his work then, the man lapping up every drop of the boy's seed very carefully. Stroking his sore member with utmost care.  
The pirate held the golden beads up, peering at them as drop after drop dribbled down to fall upon Alphonse's belly. With a flick of her wrist, the thing flew across the room, carelessly discarded.  
"Well, we wont be needing that any more, won't we emperor?" She asked, winking towards Raphael.  
Alphonse visibly relaxed once the thing had gone, sinking against her soft body, moans coming more freely as his fingers curled into the throne's arms. Maeve tilted the boy's face to the side, pressing her lips to his, inundating his senses with the sweetness of her taste and scent. Asmodeus swallowed as the boy came in his mouth.  
The man looked none too pleased about what Maeve was doing, staring grimly up at the prolonged kiss--until Raphael's administrations proved too much for his weakened body, Asmodeus gagging softly and looking away as he took his own release and Raphael followed.  
Maeve broke the kiss, then gently patted Alphonse's belly once more, waiting for the two other men to finish.  
"Good job dear. Asmodeus, take a rest. Alphonse needs to bond with his master now~" the man shuddered, but obeyed, slumping on the side of the throne as Raphael stepped forward, looking hungrily down at Alphonse. As the boy opened his eyes and saw him, he stiffened again.  
"Take that sour look off your face and help me undress. You're about to fuck the most precious jewel in this desert, remember?" She purred, lifting her legs towards him. Ah, how she regretted not wearing a dress...  
Raphael grunted, but did as asked. Such a good dog! With the right training, he too could make the perfect slave...  
Another word from her and he had also undressed Alphonse, the buy shivering as his callous fingers rubbed against his skin. Cheers rose again, as Maeve's pale skin was exposed against the throne. How the pirate still had such a skin remained a mystery.  
She turned Alphonse around. His tense body rested against her own soft one, the boy letting out a soft gasp as their skin touched, his own tinged with red. He didn't know where to look, where to put his hands, and Maeve found all of it adorable, laughed softly and kissed him again, moving his hands to settle on her soft, pillowy breasts. The way the boy moved against her told her her touch was not entirely unwanted.  
"First time with a woman? You poor thing, don't worry, I promise you'll like it~" A soft purr as the boy closed his eyes and whimpered in shame. She moved then, the blond gasping as his cock was engulfed in soft, wet warmth, tighter than any mouth. Maeve let out a pleased hum as the bells on his cock stroked inside her. She peeked an eye open, grinning at Raphael. Her hand slid down Alphonse's back and to his ass, spreading him, offering his entrance to the emperor.  
"And remember, be gentle~"  
Raphael's hands moved to cup Maeve's, but rather than simply continuing to spread the boy's cheeks, he dipped two fingers inside. Preparation was no longer needed, but that wasn't the point of his movement. Deep he traced, walking his hand down that muscled warmth and pressing, Alphonse crying out and arching wobbily as he was caught between two forms of pleasure. So he found Asmodeus' touch more pleasurable than his own, did he? They would see about that.  
He withdrew his hand, clasped the soft globes of the boy's ass, and entered him. Slow, deep. A song he'd never sung with him before.  
And how the boy cried out at that! He had fucked Alphonse countless times, but never had his voice sounded so melodious before. Not even the times the boy had actually pretended to enjoy it. Alphonse arched at that deep, slow movement, eyes widening as the warlord's thick cock pushed into him and moved his own deeper into the pirate's warm body. A moment later he tucked his head down against her chest, muffling the sounds of pleasure that even now escaped him in shame. If anything, pressing his face against such a place… made him even more ashamed of himself. He'd hidden his face in Raphael's and Asmodeus' chests many times before, but women were something different. He didn't know how to move, where to touch. Everything about her was warm and sweet and forbidden. Everything about her made the heat between his leg burn all the warmer, even if she, too, was one of the monsters who had dragged him to hell.  
She too moved against him, and he found himself moving back, the emperor behind him changing his rhythm accordingly. As the tempo slowly grew, his breathing ragged, he found himself squeezed between two warm bodies. Hard behind him and soft beneath him. He sunk against that softness, closed his eyes and clung to it, arching one last time as he came, warm leaving him just as warmth entered him, again that sweetness touching his lips…  
When she left his lips, she kissed his forehead instead, brushing pale strands away from his face.  
"There there, that's a good boy~" She purred, gently stroking the panting boy atop her. And then her eyes strayed upwards, a nasty grin directed towards Raphael.  
"We might have a problem… I think your bed slave is into women~"  
No good deed unpunished, apparently. Raphael snarled and abruptly yanked Alphonse off--although more gently than he could have--drawing the boy close to himself.  
"I'm sure the former general is into women, too, but that doesn't matter in the end, does it?"  
Asmodeus shuddered violently where he lay beside the throne.  
Maeve crossed her legs, looking smugly up at the emperor as she tilted her head to the side.  
"Oh, he does, which is why I make sure to love him thoroughly every chance I have, but sometimes he is bad and some punishments are in order…" Her eyes strayed towards Asmodeus as she reached out, stroked his hair.  
"I'd make someone else do it, love, but as it is a punishment, it really can't be anyone else." She raised her eyes then, caught Alphonse looking at her in a haze and winked. The boy let out a squeak and hid his face against Raphael. The pirate queen laughed, her great mood showing.  
"Now, who else wants to fuck me on this throne!"  
An instant clamor from the men--cut across by a considerable bang, Lucian slamming a pair of skulls together, kicking a few others, ripping the last one down by the ankle and presenting himself before Maeve, manhood rising proudly from tussled hair.  
"I do, oh queenie! Unless this one--nah, you're too gay for that now, aren't you?"  
He shoved Raphael's shoulder with a laugh, the man simply glowering even as he clutched Alphonse all the closer, not exactly defeating the point.  
Alphonse's eyes had risen once more, but this time they looked towards the emperor, slumped down against the floor, pained and filthy. He wanted to go to him, to be in his arms and hold him and say he was sorry. To say goodbye.  
Instead he forced himself to look away before his master caught him staring, sunk more fully into Raphael's arms, quiet and waiting, and trying to push away the thought that this one might be the last time he ever saw Asmodeus.  
"It is really a shame…I would have loved to have you both, but yes, our emperor does seem to have grown far too fond of dick…" Maeve's eyes settled on the warlord, jealously clutching the tired boy close in his arms, wanting no one else to touch him. A sharp contrast with the previous scene, where he seemed to be intent on filling him with every cock in that room just to make him suffer, hitting him when he tried to gain his favor.  
Another hard day at work for the pirate queen! Asmodeus better thank her for saving his little lover~  
Maeve leaned forward, spreading her legs and grinning.  
"You will have to do… hope you're hungry~"  
Lucian pressed himself forward, pinning Maeve between body and throne, openly salivating. A moment later rough hands were on her breasts, rough mouth on her shoulder, rough dick in her damp. Maeve's cries of ecstasy rose sharply as Lucian rutted gleefully against her, the other man scrambling forward, arguing over who would go next.  
Raphael, however, was not one of the contenders. He picked Alphonse up and strode away without a backward glance, although the same wasn't true of the boy. The little blonde's eyes held Asmodeus' as long as they could, the man staring haunted after him, even as he pressed his soiled body back against the throne to avoid grasping hands.  
It was to the bedroom that Raphael carried Alphonse, and it was on the bed that his brother lay, looking every bit as dead as he had before. Raphael moved toward the bed--hesitated--turned and whisked Alphonse to the adjoining bathroom instead. The door had scarcely closed before he was on his knees, his slave pressed against the wall as he nuzzled and sucked his sex.  
The boy's cries came at that, albeit far more quiet than while he had claimed him on the throne. He was careful and gentle with him, caressing the boy as he suspected he enjoyed instead of grinding cocks and bells in his mouth. Alphonse's trembling fingers moved to his hair, slim body shaking against the wall as he gasped for breath. It did not take long for Alphonse's sweetness to fill his mouth, and he drank it all greedily, drawing the boy as close to himself as he could. When he was done, Alphonse slumped against the wall, eyes closed as he panted, held up by the hands at his hips.  
"T-thank you..." The sound of the boy's broken voice startled him and he looked up. Alphonse was looking away, tears in his eyes. He spoke again.  
"T-thank you for sparing my brother... t-thank you... I p-promise I'll be good so p-please... please d-don't hurt him..." With that he wordlessly turned around, bracing himself against the wall and willingly offering himself to the emperor.  
The warlord needed little invitation. He heaved himself up, sealed his body to the boy's, and--stopped. There was nothing but slow breathing for a time.  
"Not that it matters now," Raphael muttered, and then at last he sheathed himself. Alphonse closed his eyes, crying out breathlessly as the man pumped inside him, over and over. And then stopped again. Withdrew.  
"Turn around."  
The little blonde did so, eyes lowered--which gave him a clear view of Raphael abruptly kneeling, taking Alphonse's stiff cock in his hands and beginning to unfasten the bells. The boy's heart hammered unwittingly as, with their final clangs, the damn things fell to the floor.  
When it was over Raphael stood and turned away.  
"I'm going back to the others. Don't leave the room."  
Alphonse closed his eyes and nodded, murmuring yet another quiet thank you. He remained still against the wall as the warlord left, waiting, as the sound of the bedroom door closing reached him. Shuddering, he slid down to the bathroom floor and covered his face as sob after sob left him.  
He did not remain there for long.  
"A-Alex..." A gentle hand shook him, the other boy stirring, eyes focusing again at the sound of his brother's voice. He looked up, saw Alphonse looking down at him, and immediately looked away, wincing.  
Alphonse shook him more insistently this time.  
"Alex, he's gone... let's take a shower okay?" A bit more coaxing, and finally Alphonse got his brother to get to his feet--crying out as the other boy almost immediately fell, knees wobbling beneath the meager weight of his body. How many days had it been since his brother hadn't been forced to either kneel or lay down? He could not remember. With encouraging words, he held him up. Step by step they made their way to the bathroom, their pace slowed considerably by the chains around Alex's ankles. But eventually they were there. Him and his brother crawled into the basin, the blond knocking softly on the wooden wall, warm water soon flowing around them. It was not like Raphael to leave them alone and unchained inside the room, much less inside the bathroom.  
Alphonse rubbed and scrubbed his twin's filthy skin with the soaps lying around.  
His brother was much weaker than him, now. His constant struggles saw him beaten, starved and restrained much worse than him, despite his best attempts to receive Raphael's punishments in his stead. He could just... shove him down, head beneath the soapy water. Would Alex even fight him? Shackled and weak as he was? Even then, he was sure he would be strong enough to hold him until it was all over.  
He brushed the hair out of his brother's face, looking into his dead eyes. Eyes that had one brought him so much hope were now as dead as his own. Sobbing, he drew Alex tightly close, shuddered against.  
"I-I'm sorry A-Alex... I-I'm s-so sorry..."

The orgy continued late into the night--not that Lucian let anyone other than Raphael much participate. When it finally dissipated, Maeve gathering up her broken slave and heading off with Lucian prowling behind her, the soldiers returning to their barracks, Raphael headed once more to his room.  
It was quiet when he entered, unsurprising, and the twins weren't on the bed. Rather than panicking, Raphael simply turned to the bathroom, cracking the door open. There they were, in one another's arms in the tub.  
Raphael opened his mouth to call to them--paused--ran forward, dragged them out of the water. Alphonse slumped limply to the towels, sides heaving. Alex didn't move at all. His eyes were wide and empty, so similar to before, yet so much more at peace.  
Raphael pressed a hand to the boy's neck, confirmed what he already knew, then settled back on his haunches.  
"Gods below..."  
He had been quiet before, but the sobs began breaking out of him now as his brother was ripped out of his arms, their connection disturbed. Farewell over. Raphael was entirely ignored, the boy not caring anymore whether the man beat or raped him for what he had done. He reached out, fingers intertwining with his twin's cold ones. Not a word was said.  
Raphael breathed.  
His mind went back to two decades before. A bitter child who had lost everything. A vow to sweep all the horrors of the sand away into the ocean. To bring righteousness and justice beneath the sun.  
And then the now. The dead boy. The boy worse than dead. The truth he tried to forget.  
He breathed again and stood.  
Alphonse started as hands closed around his throat.  
The boy tensed. Small hands clutched at his strong wrists, wide grey eyes fixed on his own. Raphael tightened his grip, cutting off Alphonse's attempt to breathe.  
Tears rose to the blond's eyes, but he did not struggle, merely kept holding onto him. Raphael's eyes strayed downwards as the boy's lips began moving one last time.  
Thank you.  
What was this awful feeling inside his chest? He breathed as harsh as if it were for both of them, vision distorting, Alphonse's face blurring.  
"Don't thank me. Don't thank me. I have done nothing for you."  
Those soft fingers quivered against his wrists and, in time, went limp. The silvery eyes went dull. The boy that had fought so long lay still.  
Raphael hunched over the corpse, twisted and stiff, until he pulled the still warm body into his arms and wept for the first time in twenty years.  
"Oh dear..." Maeve stood at the door, Lucian and her broken slave at her heels. The woman was dressed again, but she'd been looking to get rid of her clothes once more. It didn't seem like that was going to happen anymore. Her eyes moved quickly through the room, taking in the sight of the two dead boys and the sobbing emperor.  
"...It might not be too late, Raphael, we could bring the boy back."  
"Oh fuck, Raphy, what did you do?"  
Lucian's voice, but he wasn't the one who suddenly shoved past Maeve, threw himself at Raphael, scrabbling to get the boy out of his arms. The tyrant came to vicious life at this, snarling and slamming Asmodeus away.  
"Leave h-him! Let him rest! It's better this way..."  
The old emperor balanced on heels and palms, rigid. His eyes were wide blank green.  
"I'll kill you."  
A whisper. Then a scream.  
"I'll kill you! I'll KILL YOU!"  
He threw himself forward and sank his teeth viciously into Raphael's neck, faster and stronger than the warlord thought him capable of; his roar of response was cut off to a choked rasp. Alphonse's body tumbled from Raphael's arms as the two men locked in struggle, Asmodeus relentless, all the others efforts not enough to unlock his jaws. Lucian let out a belated bellow and leapt abruptly forward, trying to pry Asmodeus off--trying to punch him unconscious when it failed, the man's desperate squirming rolling his head out of range just in time.  
Maeve stood at the door, weighting her options for a moment. Suddenly she surged forward, jabbing her elbow harshly against Asmodeus' back. The old man arched, crying out, and in that brief moment Maeve's hand curled into his hair, yanked him back, throwing him away from Raphael.  
"Hold him down! And you! Stop fucking struggling or I'll gift your nephew to Raphael to replace these two!" An empty threat, but all she could think for now. Her attention shifted away from Asmodeus and towards the recovering emperor, who sat clutching his neck and gasping for breath. She picked Alphonse's body, held it towards him.  
"Raphael, come on! I thought you were going to be good to him? We can still fix this..."  
Raphael shook his head, breathing hard.  
"This can't... be fixed..."  
A heavy thudding indicated Lucian was pinning Asmodeus down more viciously then needed, sneering as his thick fingers knotted the man's hair. Asmodeus fought to get up despite it, was slammed back down again for his trouble, blood that wasn't entirely Raphael's draping his lips.  
Maeve rolled her eyes, muttered something under her breath that sounded like 'men'.  
"If you felt that guilty you could have just let them go, you know? He got over you once, he could have done it again," She hissed. She stood up, taking the boy's body with her as she went, walked over towards Lucian and Asmodeus, nudging the other man with her boot.  
"Stop being an ass and get him up!" Lucian pressed one last harsh time against the man beneath him before he finally obeyed, sitting up and taking Asmodeus with him. She pressed Alphonse's body into the old emperor's arms before he could try to struggle anew, reached out and stroked his hair. When Raphael raised his voice in protest she simply dismissed him, stroking her slave's hair as she spoke.  
"He's a corpse now. No one else will ever have him… you might as well just let him hold him for a moment."  
Raphael turned away, gritting his teeth--spun around at a sound other than weeping. Asmodeus had folded himself over Alphonse's body, hands to his chest, working at his heart.  
"P-Please--Alex--maybe he's still--"  
"No!"  
A scream, Raphael rising and lunging, furious--to be grabbed neatly by Lucian, pinned down with considerable more care than he'd given Asmodeus.  
Maeve sighed, walked over towards the other boy dragging him away from Raphael and towards Asmodeus. She set the body down, then fetched a dagger from her belt, deftly cutting away the muzzle that until then had remained attached to the boy's face, and began working at his chest the same way Asmodeus began working Alphonse's  
"Seriously, men!"

"Alphonse.... Alphonse!" Slowly, sluggishly, he opened his eyes. Bright light shone above him, but he did not wince away. Suddenly, his brother's face peered down at him from above, clothes in soft cotton.  
"A-Alex?" He remembered pain, his brother laying still in his arm, his body filthy, aching, ashamed... but only very dimly. Slowly he sat up, rubbing at his eyes.  
"I... I think I had a nightmare." He opened his eyes again to see a familiar grassy field stretching before them, and yet it looked nothing like they had ever seen.  
"...Where are we?" The sound of laughter, and then something small and warm barreling against them.  
"Alphonse! Alex! You're here!" Another flash of golden, a bright smile, his sister's face beaming at them. She looked exactly as they remembered.  
"A-Amelie?...Amelie!" Alphonse drew her tightly close, his brother throwing himself against them as well as they laughed together even as tears began rising to their eyes. Alphonse moved back ever so slightly, holding her beaming face.  
"A-Amelie... b-but how? You were sick and... and..." The girl blinked, then smiled again.  
"It's alright Alphonse! I'm not sick anymore! I can run and swim and dance and it doesn't hurt breathing anymore! We can run together now! Come on, everyone's waiting for you!" The girl got up to her feet, tugging at them. They turned at the sound of voices calling out to them. Their grandparents were there, their aunt, their cousin, a few others from the village, and some faces they could not put a name to.  
"Where are we?" Alex's voice this time. Amelie smiled at them.  
"We're home."  
And then all of a sudden Alphonse felt a pang in his chest, his eyes closed as he choked, something beating at him again and again and again until finally he drew a sharp breath and opened his eyes. Asmodeus' face above him, tear streaked, the man calling his name again and again as he drew him close. In the background, he could hear his brother coughing. He sobbed.  
"N-no..."  
Asmodeus knew then that he shouldn't have done it. He'd known a moment ago. But when the boy had been pressed into his arms, when, this time, he'd had a chance to save the one he loved...  
No, no, he hadn't saved him at all. He'd dragged him back to hell.  
Asmodeus made a choking noise, then something softer but worse. The last sound of someone dying.  
"I'm s-sorry A-Alphonse--"  
He reached with shaking hands for his throat, to fix the horror he had done. Even if his limbs had found the strength, he never got the chance. Lucian grabbed him up in one thick arm, restraining him and a spitting kicking Raphael both.  
"These two have gone fucking ass crazy!"  
"As I said, men." Maeve murmured, gently stroking the coughing boy's hair. With a sigh, she got up, left the bathroom even as Lucian called desperately out for her. She was not gone for long. In short order she had chained up both the warlord and the former emperor, freeing Lucian's hands. She knelt before Raphael, grinning as she reached out and stroked his hair.  
"I must say, emperor, you look very good in chains. I have a weak spot for tied up royalty, you see~" The man growled, but it only made her laugh.  
"Listen now, Raphael, there's no need to waste two perfectly good slaves. If you want them gone, I'll be glad to take them from you. I promise I'll take good care of them, and I've already proven I can make them far happier than you ever could, haven't I?~"  
Raphael's answer was a prolonged hiss. The previous tears had vanished, too shameful to show in front of the others, replaced by a facade of rage.  
Inside, however, he still felt of dying.  
Asmodeus didn't bother to hide his indecency. Coiled up on himself, croaking in pain, he whimpered the words.  
"Please set them f-free."  
Raphael set his jaw and looked away.  
Maeve ignored Asmodeus, kept smiling at the warlord.  
"No complaints then? Very well." A moment later she had pinned the warlord down. There was a brief scuffle, but tied as he was, there was not much he could do. Soon he found himself both bound and gagged with the same bindings he had so often used on Alphonse and his brother. Maeve stepped back, appreciating her job, and whistled.  
"Looking good, emperor! You make me want to stay and play with you... but alas, a little intervention is in order." A longing hand stroked down his chest, briefly hovered over the front of his pants before the pirate moved entirely away. "I'll be taking the boys tonight~ Don't make a fuss, they're still yours, I'll just take care of them while you spend the night in your room and think about what you've done. Your soldiers should come look for you in the morning to untie you, and then you can go get them back from my ship. Either that, or I'd gladly buy them from you! Now, be a good boy and get some rest!"  
Despite his muffled screams of rage and his struggles, Maeve and Lucian placed the man neatly on his bed--and tied him to it so he couldn't crawl and get the guards. With that taken care of, the woman swept up the two skinny boys in her arms while Lucian carried the heavier man.  
Normally, the guards would have stopped Lucian upon seeing him carry away their emperor's prized slaves. But a brief explanation from the pirate stating that the warlord had just lent them to her and a suggestion that maybe they could come with Raphael to pick them up and pay her a visit, and they were let through.  
Once inside her carriage, there were no more delays. Asmodeus croaked as they returned to the pirate's ships. She sent the boys away with her guards, and set a few more to keep an eye on a grumpy Lucian while she slipped the emperor into her tub, washing and bathing him and tending to his wounds.  
"You know, we could just sail away right now. You, me, and those two beautiful boys. Raphael would never catch us at sea... then again, I would never be able to set foot on land ever again. Such a shame..." She lamented.  
Once she was done, she set him on her bed as usual. To his surprise, the woman began dressing him up instead of undressing. She muffled his inquiries with a kiss, and hauled him to his feet again.  
She escorted him to another room, one with mattresses and cushions and sheets set on the floor. And the two boys, sobbing as they huddled against one another, dressed in the old clothes the emperor had once gifted them. The fabric hung over their bodies, far too big. Perhaps for the better, the long sleeves hiding away the cuts on Alex's wrists and ankles that the chains Raphael had imposed on him had left behind upon their removal.  
"Take good care of those boys, Asmodeus. This might very well be the last night you ever see them. And don't go trying any foolish things. Their lives are not yours to take, but your nephew's life IS mine~" with that she smacked his ass, winking at Alphonse before she exited the room. A pair of guards entered after her, setting plates laden with food and jugs filled with milk before them. And a single small vial of salve, courtesy of Maeve.  
They set these down on the floor and then moved back and away, the door closing and locking behind them as Maeve's voice echoed to them one last time, calling Lucian to her bed.  
The door hadn't yet closed when Asmodeus rocked forward, with slow and deliberate agony, uncertain if he was wanted, unwilling to go back. And then he broke and the choice was no longer a choice. He threw himself at the two, pulled them into his arms, as tight as he could so nothing could take them away from him. He wept.  
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry--"  
And wanted he was. The boys clung back to him with just as much desperation. Even Alex, who had once glared at him at every chance and sought to get both him and his brother as far away from his grasp. Even Alex, who had so recently seemed miserably indifferent to everything around him, now clung to him and sought the familiarity of his embrace, the memories it brought of better times. For a long moment, that was all there was. The three seeking each other's warmth as they wordlessly cried out their pain. Alphonse was the first to speak, voice hoarse and trembling.  
"I-I saw home..."  
"I-I'm sorry Alphonse, I'm so s-sorry." Alphonse shook his head in answer  
"Y-you didn't k-know..."  
Asmodeus could do nothing but hiss in self-hate. He hadn't known but he had known death was better. And still he'd--!  
He rubbed his face wordlessly against them and said nothing. The option to grant them mercy was no longer in his hands. But perhaps Raphael would finish it tomorrow.  
It was the cruelest hope, but it was all he had left.  
And for tonight--  
For this one last night--  
They had each other.


End file.
